Titans' Carr leaves Lions without deal; Loper waiting

According to a league source, Carr left the Detroit Lions on Monday without a deal and was heading to Cleveland to visit with the Browns.

Carr, who helped the Titans rank No. 1 in kickoff returns in 2008, has also drawn interest from the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers and could make visits there as well.

“It went well, I expected it to go well,” Carr told The Detroit News of visiting the Lions. “I enjoyed my visit. Everybody was really cool. And I feel like they’re gonna get the program turned around.”

Carr came to the Titans as a restricted free agent from the Oakland Raiders last year and not only helped solidify the return game, but also wound up filling in at cornerback after a rash of injuries hit the position.

He has said all along that he wants a bigger defensive role in addition to being a kick returner, something that may not be readily available with the Titans, whose four starting positions and nickelback spots are already locked up.

"I like Tennessee, and it's still not a foregone conclusion that I'm not gonna go back there,” Carr said Monday. “But if a team's gonna give me more of an opportunity, then I probably would leave."

Meanwhile, the agent for Titans tackle Daniel Loper expects interest in his client to heat up a bit this week once the initial wave of free agency goes by.

“We’ve had a couple of teams express an interest in Daniel, but until things become more advanced, I don’t really want to reveal them because they could be false starts, but there are some teams out there that need a tackle,” Loper’s agent Leonard Roth said.

The Lions, now coached by former Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, could have some interest in Loper to help bolster their offensive line. Loper was the Titans third tackle the past two seasons and also has filled in at guard.

Hentrich returns: The Tennessee Titans won’t be shopping for a punter after all, as veteran Craig Hentrich has decided to return for a 16th NFL season.

Hentrich, who has undergone two back surgeries in his career, including one two years ago, had been leaning toward retirement at the end of the 2008 season, but after taking time to rest and recover made the decision Monday that he wanted to come back.

“I did go into this morning to Jeff [Fisher] and tell him that I wanted to be part of this team, and hopefully, we’ll get something worked out,” Hentrich said.

Hentrich is a free agent and will have to be signed to a new contract in order to return.

Fisher made the announcement of Hentrich’s return Monday afternoon at the press conference for the signings of Nate Washington and Jovan Haye.

“For all intents and purposes, Craig Hentrich will be the punter for this football team again next year,” Fisher said.

Hentrich, who turns 38 in May, has spent the past 11 seasons with the Titans organization.